When Dr. Lopez came for me, I was plunging the geo lab toilet. She carried a red stickle suit in one hand and a spray can of anti-fungal lubricant in the other. "Great news, Oliver! Big Spike is in season," Dr. Lopez said. "He finally wants to fertilize Thick Root..."

No- I mean it. Really. EEEEEWWWWWWWW!!!! This one takes it place alongside The Worm Within. The kinda story you immediately begin thinking of who you can pass this episode along too, just to get reactions.

The reading was excellent, Norm! The voice characterizations over the comm set really knocked this one outta the park.

After listening to "If I Had a Hammer", I can't not buy the book. So the ad campaign resulted in a sale!

I have to agree with Moonowl, I want some of the sticky stuff. I am just glad that the story didn't involve any moaning plants as the protagonist roamed the reproductive organs of these plants. Though it was amusing how the plants talk to him all night after this sexual encounter, reminds me of my spouse!

I prefer to think of it as Botanical Erotica but that's one of those things where you say "Potato" and I say "Sextato". Either way, my stamen is heavy with pollen.

I thought this story was hilarious and Norm's reading was top notch.
Easily one of my favorite Drabblecasts so far.

I'm gonna miss hearing Frank Key on here though. That guy is a gem. His brain is like a cabinet of curiosities, you can get lost in the labyrinthine folds for hours. I never thought about it before but I really like hearing him read with atmospheric music playing in the background. Nice touch Norm!

"The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far."

I loved this story, especially the down on his luck main character, forced to please and nurture an organism he hates that is strangling something he loves. I worked at the Olive Garden near SFSU for four years and it was exactly like this, watching the little ma and pop italian restaurants in west portal struggle. I think we can all relate in some way.

We've had a massive influx of awesome episode art and strong new artists over the last few weeks (with more to come, including some debuts, fantastic stuff, believe me, I've seen it). It's been such a pleasure to see the community continually assure that the icing on the episode cake stays extra sweet.

Bill's effort towards 191 may well represent my favorite entry since we started the project almost 60 episodes ago; I wanted to assure that all due praise is heaped. The image has great color, movement, and I love the expression on the protagonist's face, and also how Bill communicated how yucky and gooey this story gets in just one image. The perfect first impression.

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Oh, thanks to all that mentioned my contributions to episodes 192, 185, 180, 175, or 169 in the episode comments or story discussion. I don't get over to the other forums quite as often as I should, but all feedback is appreciated.

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If any drabblecast fan out there is an amateur or professional artist / illustrator / photographer and wants to get in on the drabblecast cover art rotation, all are welcome, e-mail our main address drabblecast@yahoo.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and express your intent in the body and subject line (we have a high e-mail volume, it helps assure I see it). We're pretty stocked at this point, but assure anyone that wants a shot will get one eventually. It's a great way to get some eyes on your work and a DC community bump to your blog/portfolio.

This was a fun listen, an interesting take on how devistating it can be to introduce a non-native species into an environment. I also appreciate the concept of low-risk offenders being offered "opportunities", and how shit really does fall.

The collection scene with Scotty felt over the top for me, a too deliberate send-up of the "first time sex" or the "experienced lover, inexperienced partner" routine. The dialogue was too spot-on to not play like the author wanted to make certain we recognized the clever comparison.

Norm's narration kicked ass, particularly the dialogue over the communicator.

Ewwww!!! This story was good, gross but good. I liked the twist at the end with the change in pollination.

The one thing that bothered me is his colleagues not allowing them to save the little guy because it would be interfering with the natural order, yet they're stomping all over the natural order by choosing which plants to pollinate with which.

I forgot to mention that "If I had a Hammer" was frigging hilarious. I've always thought that song was weird and didn't really make sense. Frank's version makes perfect sense to me and I'll never be able to hear that song again without thinking of this version.

Easily in the Top 10 episodes ever done in any of the 'casts I get -- alongside the Aliya Whitelys and MONGOOSE. Ireallyhope it gets People's Choice. Just hits that perfect note on the corner of Sublime and Ridiculous. Predictable ending, but -- in a good way. Like watching a Monty Python movie for the 15th time. You KNOW what happens to Mr Creosote, but that doesn't mean you'll pick that moment to go get a beer.